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Descent ( Immortal chronicles book 1)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
109 of 230
Kindle
Descent ( Immortal Chronicles book 1)
By Sloane Murphy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Six hundred years after The Outbreak, the human population stand side by side with the Fae & the Vampyrs to stop the Demon King from starting a second Dark War.
Seventeen year old Adelaide Tate is in her last year of the Academy, with her eyes set on becoming part of the Red Guard.
Who cares that no female has ever joined?
When a dark force develops an unhealthy liking for her, Adelaide needs to fight for her life and figure out what makes her so different from the others.
Betrayal. Fear. Anger.
She must overcome it all in order to turn her world the right way around again.
Adelaide has one choice. Accept the help offered to her by Xander Bane, or face the Demon Hoard alone.
One thing is for sure. The descent will be bloody.

That had me totally engrossed it was a cross between Lauren Kates Fallen and the House of night series by PC Cast. I really enjoyed it. It had me remembering how much I enjoyed this YAs. It may not be perfect but I found it really enjoyable and looking forward the next book. The only thing stopped it being a 5⭐️ was I saw the ending coming!
  
The Last Holiday [Audiobook]
The Last Holiday [Audiobook]
Amy Sheppard | 2023 | Crime, Mystery
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the first book I have listened to/read by Amy Sheppard and, overall, I wasn't disappointed.

The story centres around a group of friends on a camping holiday to celebrate one of the groups daughters 18th birthday. It becomes pretty clear early on that the group is full of secrets and angst that ends up having deadly consequences.

The narrator did a great job but due to the amount of characters with each chapter being from a different point of view, I did find it difficult to keep track of which character I was with. You wouldn't have this problem with a physical book but dipping in and out of an audiobook (as I tend to do), made this a tad confusing and did reduce my enjoyment just a little but not by much.

The characters were an interesting and eclectic bunch most of which I found not particularly likeable so didn't have a lot of sympathy with what befell them but I loved the twists and turns that I didn't see coming which kept me listening intently until the whole story was revealed.

Overall, a good audiobook but I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the physical book but I must thank Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Last Holiday.
  
Song of the Huntress
Song of the Huntress
Lucy Holland | 2024 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Song of the Huntress was a really enjoyable listen, narrated well by Kristin Atherton. It felt like I was in 60AD with them: the descriptions of the land, the court, the battles and the Wild Hunt; the inner thoughts and motivations of Herla, Queen Æthelburg of Wessex and her husband King Ine were all described and narrated in such a way that I wanted to keep listening.

This had just the right amount of history, myth and magic for me - well, anything with those three things in is a winner, in my opinion!

With the resurgence of Greek Myth (yes, I’m a fan), it has been really heartening to see the odd Norse and Celtic myth and folklore book coming out. I enjoy a good retelling, and 5is is a good read. Yes, there are some seemingly modern themes: Æthelburg and Herla’s attraction and Ine’s asexuality in particular, but who’s to say these weren’t appropriate in 60AD? I’m sure homosexuality and asexuality have been a ‘thing’ for as long as there’s been humans (there probably is someone who could say - this is the internet, after all).

To me, as a listener/ reader, this just felt really genuine and well researched. I loved learning about the characters and their world.

Just as Sistersong left me eagerly awaiting Song of the Huntress, I’m really looking forward to whatever comes next from Lucy Holland.
  
The Glasshouse (Lavender Shores #6)
The Glasshouse (Lavender Shores #6)
Rosalind Abel | 2018 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
love love LOVE this series!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 6 in the series, but you don't need to have read there other books to follow this one. They can all be read as stand alones. But they are all 4 and 5 star reviews, from me!

I keep flipping from 4 to 5 stars and back to four again, and I have no idea why I keep crossing the numbers out at the top of the page, so gonna split the difference and call it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 for the blog!

A little bit more of an emotional read, this one. I felt for Harrison, I really did. I cried for him when he runs, first from Will then from Adrian. And cheered for him when he finds himself, after being someone else for everyone for so very long.

But equally, Adrian wrecks your heart too! While he fights for what he feels for Harrison in the beginning, then letting it all out and going all in, and when he was waiting for Harrison to come back to him. Oh Lord, the waiting was painful!

Harrison's brother Jasper plays a huge part here, and I think he should get a story too. Adrian's brother too, but to a lesser degree. He needs a happy ever after though, after such loss. OH!! Did I see that one being laid out?? Maybe not, we'll see!

But my overwhelming feeling (and ya'll know I'm all about sharing the feelings!) is that I want, no, I NEED the story of Adrian's uncles, Alex and Alan. Alex' diary was found in one of the couples (I forget which) house when they are remodeling. Adrian references Alex' diary here, and I so desperately want to hear their story. Although members of the Founding Families, they didn't have it as easy as the guys in Lavender Shores do now. I think THEIR story would be a welcome addition to this series.

As I read each one of these books, I find once I start, I cannot stop and I have read most of them in one sitting. They aren't short books, some 300 pages but everything just grinds to a halt when I start. So, please, keep them coming!

Ah stuff it!

5 full and shiny stars!

**same worded review will appear elsewhe
  
Her Lord of Death
Her Lord of Death
Kyla D. Knight | 2019 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
loved this!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

I'm not writing a blurby bit here, gonna jump straight in!

I bloody loved this!

So many layers, so much betrayal and back stabbing. Such pain for Acheron in his past, his present, and as he sees, his future. Kora is a woman he can never have, then he does, but still he can't. Cryptic, I know but I ain't doing spoilers!

And so, so many plot twists, I did not see any of them coming at me!

I loved that Acheron knew he was damaged, possibly beyond repair, but still he tries to make Kora see, to SEE that damage, in the only way he knows how: with violence. But KORA?? Kora SEES Acheron. She sees the man behind the rumours and whispers. She sees the man behind the scars, and finally, she SEES why Acheron does what he does to push her away and it makes her love him even more. She makes Acheron SEE, that there is more to life than pain.

And when WE find out why? Well, lets just say I bawled my eyes out. You get hints and snippets as to why Acheron reacts the way he does, but you don't get the full picture. Oh you put the clues together well enough, but really? Not enough. Nowhere NEAR enough.

After we get the full picture of what Acheron endured while in in Crete at the hands of Minos, it's a wonder the man is even sane! As Oz, Acheron's approximation of a best friend pointed out, he only had two years there, and Acheron had TEN years fighting for his life almost every day.

Suffices to say, this carries some dark story lines, but to say what they are would be spoilers. If you want to know, please message me, I'll tell you. Some readers may have triggers.

There is a little bit at the back of this, about how THIS book was Knight's first book, not Beautiful Beast. About how much of a battle Knight had with it. I'm so bloody glad she won that battle!

It's also billed as A Mythic World Romance. No idea what comes next, but I really wanna read it!

5 stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
SM
So Much Life Left Over
Louis de Bernieres | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The aftermath of World War 1 in true de Bernieres style.
Louis de Bernieres has been one of my favourite authors ever since I stumbled across The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts in 1990. As soon as I see that he has a book coming out, I avidly wait until I can buy it, trying to get as much information about the subject matter as I can (yes, I'm a fan-girl). This novel has not disappointed me.
So Much Life Left Over takes us back in to the lives of Rosie and Daniel Pitt after the First World War has come to an end. We go as far as Ceylon, back to London and to Germany in the 1930's. We catch up with all of the characters that we first encountered in The Dust That Falls From Dreams (and if you haven't read that yet, you're seriously missing out), and learn about what happens to Rosie's sisters, parents and those that they have met along the way.
I love the dialogue in this book: it's punchy, quick-witted and emotional. The first of Oily Wragge's chapters (each chapter, when about a different person, is written from their perspective, sometimes in first person, sometimes in third person - but I like this. It seems so personal) haunting, terribly sad and filled with the violence and horror of war and being a prisoner of war.
Daniel and Wragge go to work in Germany, and set up a business with the two fighter pilots that Daniel captured in the war. Here we get a look at the Germany of the early 1930's: the poverty, deprivation, and Hitlers rise to power. Daniel correctly predicts another war.
However, the truly heart wrenching events happen in the last thirty pages or so. I strongly suggest you get your handkerchief ready. The emotion in these last pages is what really makes this a truly stand out book for me (if the rest of the book hadn't already been enough to do that!). The sensitivity in the way that the subject matter is handled, and the emotions that this invokes in the reader is so well done.
I would thoroughly recommend this novel, I so enjoyed it, and I will be looking forward to the last part of this story.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.